These signs are amazing and Texas could've done so much worse.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/11202...s-chaz-stevens
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/11202...s-chaz-stevens
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mercredi 31 août 2022
I am really depressed can anyone reassure me?
Things seem really miserable here in the UK. energy costs are sky rocketing, this does not just affect individuals but businesses and places like hospitals. People are poorer and the services to support them are poorer. Entirely understandable strikes are depressing the economy and threaten to accelerate inflation. Eco-warriors have blocked the development of new gas fields and nuclear power that have exacerbated the issue and oppose biotech solutions such as gene editing that could deal with some of the agricultural issues. Ukraine was an avoidable issue. Perpetuating the war does not save lives. I can't hep but blame boys with their war toys. We wear thermals through winter and share showers alternate days.
I am just in despair my baby has no future. Is the best she has to hope for a hard life on Mars?
I am just in despair my baby has no future. Is the best she has to hope for a hard life on Mars?
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The billionaires prepare their coup.
The billionaires are closer to taking over the government by Constitutional convention.
https://www.rawstory.com/constitution-gop/
Quote:
|
If you think the Supreme Court overturning abortion rights in this country was radical and shocking, you ain’t seen nothing yet. There was a convention you should know about this past weekend in Denver, funded by some of the wealthiest men and foundations in America, that has received altogether too little publicity. .... This scenario was one possible outcome of the agenda of the “Academy of States” meeting held this past Sunday at the Hyatt Regency at the Denver Convention Center. Republican state legislators from across the country were invited to attend. If their plan works, they’ll rewrite our Constitution and state governors, the US Congress, and the President will have no say whatsoever in the process. Only state legislatures are necessary, according to Article V of the Constitution, and governors can’t veto their actions. ..... The Republican-controlled legislatures of these states can join the legislatures of solidly red states to call a constitutional convention — 34 states are needed — to rip open our Constitution and change it as they want. When done, they’ll need 3/4ths of the states to replace our current Constitution and the President, Congress, and state governors will have no say in the process whatsoever. ..... |
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mardi 30 août 2022
Not on the Court House Steps?
Ok, here's a scenario. . .
Trump gets indicted for one of the many things he's being investigated for. . .January 6. . .Georgia election interference. . .the stolen secret files. . .whatever. . .
The case comes to trial and all the way there Trump cries foul on social media.
As the process starts the liberal media endlessly calls for Trump's conviction and jailing while the right media yells that it's all a sham.
Everyday's proceedings are endlessly hashed over by the media. It looks like the case is being tried, not in court, but on TV and on social media.
Jury members get doxed.
Somebody throws a brick at Trump's car.
Security for the prosecutor and his family gets breached a a bullet misses one of the family members by inches.
So how is this sesnario avoided? Better dealt with?
A gag order on the media? Ubber security?
Your thoughts. . .
Trump gets indicted for one of the many things he's being investigated for. . .January 6. . .Georgia election interference. . .the stolen secret files. . .whatever. . .
The case comes to trial and all the way there Trump cries foul on social media.
As the process starts the liberal media endlessly calls for Trump's conviction and jailing while the right media yells that it's all a sham.
Everyday's proceedings are endlessly hashed over by the media. It looks like the case is being tried, not in court, but on TV and on social media.
Jury members get doxed.
Somebody throws a brick at Trump's car.
Security for the prosecutor and his family gets breached a a bullet misses one of the family members by inches.
So how is this sesnario avoided? Better dealt with?
A gag order on the media? Ubber security?
Your thoughts. . .
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Homosexuality / Religion
The strident opposition of the followers of the Abrahamic religions to homosexuality, is of course well known. Specifically male homosexuality that is, as the scriptures referred to by the devout, make no mention of the female kind. Perhaps the god of Abraham didn't have any knowledge of the existence of lesbians?
I would welcome the inspirational input of any Christians, Jews, or Muslims who may be lurking around here but would also like to hear from the followers or students of other religions on this matter.
I have had the interesting experience of living in Thailand for quite a few years and found to my surprise, and delight, that sexual orientation was not a matter that caused any angst among the Buddhist population. Sexual variation and sexual identity diversity was everywhere to be seen. As regards the latter I had on many occasions been unable to identify the gender of a person.
I would welcome the inspirational input of any Christians, Jews, or Muslims who may be lurking around here but would also like to hear from the followers or students of other religions on this matter.
I have had the interesting experience of living in Thailand for quite a few years and found to my surprise, and delight, that sexual orientation was not a matter that caused any angst among the Buddhist population. Sexual variation and sexual identity diversity was everywhere to be seen. As regards the latter I had on many occasions been unable to identify the gender of a person.
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Gorbachev
Just thinking, what if they (in a change of tradition*) announced his death in advance, so as to avoid conflict with the 25th anniversary of Diana's passing?
* - For the younger people here, the death of a Soviet-era leader was not necessarily made public fordays weeks months some time.
* - For the younger people here, the death of a Soviet-era leader was not necessarily made public for
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Gorbachov Dead - The Last Leader of the USSR
Quote:
|
THE last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has died at the age of 92. The Russian state news agencies Interfax, Tass and RIA Novosti reported on the matter. - Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a serious and long illness, the Moscow hospital that treated the ex-Soviet leader announced according to Tassa. |
The end of an era.
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lundi 29 août 2022
Now THIS is the USA I like! Pumpkin boat!
A pumpkin coloured thing with a difference... A GOOD difference.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...d-duane-hansen
My hat is off to this guy. Bravo, sir! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Seriously, this rates among some of the less silly stuff we see coming out of the USA today. Why can't there be more of this, and nothing of the other pumpkin coloured thing in Mar-a-Lago.
Quote:
|
Step aside, ultramarathoners: America has a new endurance athlete, and he’s as gourd as it gets. A Nebraska man has set a new world record after he paddled 38 miles down a river in a huge, hollowed-out pumpkin he grew himself. |
My hat is off to this guy. Bravo, sir! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Seriously, this rates among some of the less silly stuff we see coming out of the USA today. Why can't there be more of this, and nothing of the other pumpkin coloured thing in Mar-a-Lago.
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dimanche 28 août 2022
samedi 27 août 2022
A Criticism Of Religious Extremism And Silence From Moderates
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The proverbial dog catching the car.
The SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v Wade has been compared to the dog catching the car. I've recently heard pundits compare it to the dog slamming into the car.
For years the Republican party has benefitted from being against abortion without the negative effects of that stance since it was Constitutionally protectected. But extreme legislation in Red States makes politicians accountable in ways they didn't take into account.
It will be interesting to see if this is going to change the political dynamics in these states.
What do you think?
For years the Republican party has benefitted from being against abortion without the negative effects of that stance since it was Constitutionally protectected. But extreme legislation in Red States makes politicians accountable in ways they didn't take into account.
It will be interesting to see if this is going to change the political dynamics in these states.
What do you think?
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Down Girl -- The Logic of Misogyny (2018)
Your reviewer has read several books categorised as feminism, which may be something to do with being born into an 80% female household. This one reads like a feature length academic paper whereas many are more polemical. Kate Manne is a moral philosopher at Ivy League Cornell University and advertises her text as the first to deal with misogyny using philosophical analysis.
It is a self-masking problem, she says, which has the effect that drawing attention to the phenomenon will work to bring out more of it (or at least, not get rid of it). And the definition of misogyny according to consensus wisdom tends to chase its own tail and disappear under most attempts to identify and point out manifestations. That is why it is still a thing, and Ms Manne would not seem to be personally optimistic of any change. She has produced a fairly forensic account of it though.
A standard moral criticism of misogyny says that it is a property of people (misogynists) who hate women, universally or very generally. This makes it rather easy to cite evidence that anyone accused of it is accused falsely. Another aspect which perhaps tries to get behind the hating part is that a misogynist does not adequately recognise female humanity. This characterisation tends to exclude women themselves from the classification. Ms Manne thinks that neither of these defining thoughts are true and nor do they help the targets of misogyny, or those accused of it who are innocent. Moreover it renders the phenomenon marginal to the point of nonexistence.
Ms Manne’s definition is that misogyny is a social enforcement and policing mechanism whose objective is to uphold, preserve and sustain patriarchal norms and expectations. This is carried out via carrots and sticks of positive and negative reinforcement of actions and behaviour. And the code that this enforcement branch of patriarchy upholds is a normative state where women should create and supply “feminine encoded goods” and men should be entitled to, and take “masculine encoded” ones. She should also cede masculine encoded goods to him and not attempt to take them herself. He should not indulge in any such reversal either by the way, or else misogyny will act to correct that too. Another way of framing this is that misogyny certainly does acknowledge the humanity of women, but it sees females as “human givers” not human beings.
What these coded goods comprise is likely obvious. Feminine-coded goods and services are attention, admiration, sympathy, sex, children, and various types of nurture. The perks and privileges that are masculine-coded are power, prestige, reputation, money and status. Neither women that supply nor men that demand the relevant things will face any negative enforcement action from misogynists—rather, they will be rewarded by the system. He who seizes what she is supposed to give, even if she doesn’t, will be exonerated (Ms Manne calls this “himpathy”). She who doesn’t supply feminine-encoded things, or who takes masculine coded things away from dominant men, will be punished (“herasure”).
The case that misogyny does not have a humanist basis would seem congruent with the observation that women can and do practice it too. Whereas as an enforcement system for a social order, willing participation from both sexes is to be expected. Similarly, men who wish to rebel against the system should be expected to be diminished because of the threat they become. There are several case studies in the text that are used to exemplify Ms Manne’s treatment. As an Australian now living in the United States, she makes quite a few examples of the dynamic between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and between Julia Gillard and her political adversaries. She also fits the case of Elliot Rodger, who murdered six and injured fourteen women in a hatred-driven rampage in California in 2014, into her framework. There is an informative section on “family annihilators”; men who have killed the females in their household, and then usually themselves, because they have let their women down, and (the important bit) the latter have withdrawn respect. There are many more examples and accounts in her text, and a few apparent counter examples (proper theories should be falsifiable)
Ms Manne does not offer any theory for how patriarchy/misogyny arose in the first place. Evolutionary biologists might perhaps argue that it was an emergent phenomenon that, in some outworking of the division of labour, conferred some survival superiority on societies that incorporated it, but although this type of theorising is often plausible, it is not usually falsifiable, and Kate Manne seems (laudably) less interested in these types of conjectures. It may be for the same reason that she does not expect practices and arrangements to materially change (she has modest hopes, but she also points out that hope isn’t falsifiable either). Her outline of the logic of misogyny can probably be assailed, but restricted as it is to dry analysis, it is rather good.
It is a self-masking problem, she says, which has the effect that drawing attention to the phenomenon will work to bring out more of it (or at least, not get rid of it). And the definition of misogyny according to consensus wisdom tends to chase its own tail and disappear under most attempts to identify and point out manifestations. That is why it is still a thing, and Ms Manne would not seem to be personally optimistic of any change. She has produced a fairly forensic account of it though.
A standard moral criticism of misogyny says that it is a property of people (misogynists) who hate women, universally or very generally. This makes it rather easy to cite evidence that anyone accused of it is accused falsely. Another aspect which perhaps tries to get behind the hating part is that a misogynist does not adequately recognise female humanity. This characterisation tends to exclude women themselves from the classification. Ms Manne thinks that neither of these defining thoughts are true and nor do they help the targets of misogyny, or those accused of it who are innocent. Moreover it renders the phenomenon marginal to the point of nonexistence.
Ms Manne’s definition is that misogyny is a social enforcement and policing mechanism whose objective is to uphold, preserve and sustain patriarchal norms and expectations. This is carried out via carrots and sticks of positive and negative reinforcement of actions and behaviour. And the code that this enforcement branch of patriarchy upholds is a normative state where women should create and supply “feminine encoded goods” and men should be entitled to, and take “masculine encoded” ones. She should also cede masculine encoded goods to him and not attempt to take them herself. He should not indulge in any such reversal either by the way, or else misogyny will act to correct that too. Another way of framing this is that misogyny certainly does acknowledge the humanity of women, but it sees females as “human givers” not human beings.
What these coded goods comprise is likely obvious. Feminine-coded goods and services are attention, admiration, sympathy, sex, children, and various types of nurture. The perks and privileges that are masculine-coded are power, prestige, reputation, money and status. Neither women that supply nor men that demand the relevant things will face any negative enforcement action from misogynists—rather, they will be rewarded by the system. He who seizes what she is supposed to give, even if she doesn’t, will be exonerated (Ms Manne calls this “himpathy”). She who doesn’t supply feminine-encoded things, or who takes masculine coded things away from dominant men, will be punished (“herasure”).
The case that misogyny does not have a humanist basis would seem congruent with the observation that women can and do practice it too. Whereas as an enforcement system for a social order, willing participation from both sexes is to be expected. Similarly, men who wish to rebel against the system should be expected to be diminished because of the threat they become. There are several case studies in the text that are used to exemplify Ms Manne’s treatment. As an Australian now living in the United States, she makes quite a few examples of the dynamic between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and between Julia Gillard and her political adversaries. She also fits the case of Elliot Rodger, who murdered six and injured fourteen women in a hatred-driven rampage in California in 2014, into her framework. There is an informative section on “family annihilators”; men who have killed the females in their household, and then usually themselves, because they have let their women down, and (the important bit) the latter have withdrawn respect. There are many more examples and accounts in her text, and a few apparent counter examples (proper theories should be falsifiable)
Ms Manne does not offer any theory for how patriarchy/misogyny arose in the first place. Evolutionary biologists might perhaps argue that it was an emergent phenomenon that, in some outworking of the division of labour, conferred some survival superiority on societies that incorporated it, but although this type of theorising is often plausible, it is not usually falsifiable, and Kate Manne seems (laudably) less interested in these types of conjectures. It may be for the same reason that she does not expect practices and arrangements to materially change (she has modest hopes, but she also points out that hope isn’t falsifiable either). Her outline of the logic of misogyny can probably be assailed, but restricted as it is to dry analysis, it is rather good.
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vendredi 26 août 2022
Vidéo Response to David Chandler's attack on Sgt. Lagasse
https://odysee.com/@vindicatinglloyd...UdCbEM9D26mHVy
Can videos be embedded here that aren't YouTube?
Can videos be embedded here that aren't YouTube?
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Domestic fuel bills rocket, how will we cope?
This is in relation to the UK. We knew it was coming, and this is just the start.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-62633742
"Ofgem announced this morning that the average household energy bill will hit £3,549 from October - a rise of 80% on the current energy price cap."
The average house will face a monthly bill of £296, with the government giving a £66 subsidy off that, so £236 a month.
The stories of hardship remind me of when the Icelandic volcano erupted in 2010, when lots of people were stranded abroad. What surprised many was how many of those people, including apparently wealthy people, had no spare money to cope. They had maxed their credit/borrowing to go on holiday and when they needed extra, they had none. It showed how many people live to the limit, max their spending and cannot cope with any kind of financial shock.
The same is happening now with the huge rise in fuel bills. Even some apparently rich people are going to struggle, especially since other costs, such as mortgages are rising, as they have little leeway to cope, as they have maxed their spending already. Of course, many of them can sacrifice that holiday they could only just afford anyway.
I will cope, by not saving as much as I do, and not going to as many gigs as I normally do and fewer takeaways. But that has consequences on the loss of income faced by musicians and takeaway owners/workers.
I think, like in 2010, we will see who makes sure they have spare capacity to cope and who does not and it will not just be those on low incomes and benefits.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-62633742
"Ofgem announced this morning that the average household energy bill will hit £3,549 from October - a rise of 80% on the current energy price cap."
The average house will face a monthly bill of £296, with the government giving a £66 subsidy off that, so £236 a month.
The stories of hardship remind me of when the Icelandic volcano erupted in 2010, when lots of people were stranded abroad. What surprised many was how many of those people, including apparently wealthy people, had no spare money to cope. They had maxed their credit/borrowing to go on holiday and when they needed extra, they had none. It showed how many people live to the limit, max their spending and cannot cope with any kind of financial shock.
The same is happening now with the huge rise in fuel bills. Even some apparently rich people are going to struggle, especially since other costs, such as mortgages are rising, as they have little leeway to cope, as they have maxed their spending already. Of course, many of them can sacrifice that holiday they could only just afford anyway.
I will cope, by not saving as much as I do, and not going to as many gigs as I normally do and fewer takeaways. But that has consequences on the loss of income faced by musicians and takeaway owners/workers.
I think, like in 2010, we will see who makes sure they have spare capacity to cope and who does not and it will not just be those on low incomes and benefits.
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jeudi 25 août 2022
Missouri school district reinstates spanking as punishment
USA Today:
Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...le/7883625001/
Quote:
|
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A school district in Missouri announced it will reinstate spanking this school year – but with a parental caveat. Cassville School School District superintendent Merlyn Johnson said he did not take the job a year ago with a plan to reinstate corporal punishment – a disciplinary measure the 1,900-student Barry County district abandoned in 2001. "But it is something that has happened on my watch and I'm OK with it," Johnson said. |
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Carl Sagan's "Contact": Dr Jill Tartar
This video is an example of one of the reasons why I consider "Big Think" to be at the forefront of public science education.
This is an interview with Astronomer Dr. Jill Tartar, a SETI researcher, and the inspiration for Carl Sagan's primary character in his 1985 book "Contact", Dr Eleanor Arroway (played by Jodie Foster in the 1997 movie).
Watch time 9½ minutes
[YT]r4d6kI_b88o[/YT]
This is an interview with Astronomer Dr. Jill Tartar, a SETI researcher, and the inspiration for Carl Sagan's primary character in his 1985 book "Contact", Dr Eleanor Arroway (played by Jodie Foster in the 1997 movie).
Watch time 9½ minutes
[YT]r4d6kI_b88o[/YT]
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mercredi 24 août 2022
Rewriting the proton?
Evidence for intrinsic charm quarks in the proton
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04998-2
Anton Petrov:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biTR-zJtfk
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04998-2
Anton Petrov:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biTR-zJtfk
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mardi 23 août 2022
the difficulty of time travel on a planet
Is the possibility of finding yourself pressed in the vacuum of space or in the soil/rock of the planet in the time period you teleport to as a result of the constant movement of the planet.
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The Supernatural Part II
 Continued from here.You may copy and paste content from the original thread to respond to it. |
|
Posted By:Agatha
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mojo (Post 13861790)
“16 We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.
17 When the two Receivers receive (him), seated on the right hand and on the left, 18 He uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready.” Nope, nothing about DNA there. |
Of course, there is no more expectation from you to understand Quranic content. You are not in a position to say the updated translation of the Quran or to comment on this matter. You are familiar with the 7th century translation. It is better to stay 14 centuries ago.
Good luck
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dimanche 21 août 2022
9/11: The Smoking Gun
The evidence discussed in this video leads directly to the most likely cause, and the most likely suspects, which is probably why it was banned almost immediately on YouTube and Facebook.
The inescapable conclusion is that multiple cruise missiles were launched in broad daylight on 9/11. How they faked the videos is irrelevant to what the physical evidence shows.
This is forensice examination of the evidence we all have access to, but to discuss it is forbidden. I have tried to do just that on this very site in the past, so I'm under no illusions as to how long this post will remain here. Watch it quickly, while you can. 14.29 minutes.
9/11: The Smoking Gun
https://vimeo.com/741646536
The inescapable conclusion is that multiple cruise missiles were launched in broad daylight on 9/11. How they faked the videos is irrelevant to what the physical evidence shows.
This is forensice examination of the evidence we all have access to, but to discuss it is forbidden. I have tried to do just that on this very site in the past, so I'm under no illusions as to how long this post will remain here. Watch it quickly, while you can. 14.29 minutes.
9/11: The Smoking Gun
https://vimeo.com/741646536
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"Science Never Investigates", Except When It Does: Cattle Mutilation Edition
This is a solid research paper out of Canada, from1989:
Maggots, mutilations and myth: Patterns of postmortem scavenging of the bovine carcass
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681190/
Based upon what is known about the habits of common carrion eaters in Alberta, we review the patterns of postmortem scavenging of carcasses of cattle. We then compare with these patterns those reported in the lay press and by veterinarians investigating cattle mutilations in Alberta. We conclude that the so-called “mutilation” of cattle in Alberta was due to scavenging of carcasses and further conclude that claims of human involvement in such incidents require, as a first condition, that postmortem scavenging of the carcass be excluded.
This paper was never brought up in any conversations at my UFO Discussion Group back in the mid-1990s, for some reason. Weird, considering the "extensive research" UFOlogists are known for.
...unless Canada is in on it...:thumbsup:
Maggots, mutilations and myth: Patterns of postmortem scavenging of the bovine carcass
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681190/
Based upon what is known about the habits of common carrion eaters in Alberta, we review the patterns of postmortem scavenging of carcasses of cattle. We then compare with these patterns those reported in the lay press and by veterinarians investigating cattle mutilations in Alberta. We conclude that the so-called “mutilation” of cattle in Alberta was due to scavenging of carcasses and further conclude that claims of human involvement in such incidents require, as a first condition, that postmortem scavenging of the carcass be excluded.
This paper was never brought up in any conversations at my UFO Discussion Group back in the mid-1990s, for some reason. Weird, considering the "extensive research" UFOlogists are known for.
...unless Canada is in on it...:thumbsup:
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Time travel would change the world with the butterfly effect
If someone goes back in time, even if he does nothing there, he changes the whole world with the butterfly effect. Because it affects the people around it first, they affect others and spreads like dominoes to the world.
I mean, there is no traveling back in time. If there were, each visit would change the whole world in the long run.
Peace
I mean, there is no traveling back in time. If there were, each visit would change the whole world in the long run.
Peace
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DeSantis’s Lost Cause
Florida Gov. DeSantis takes aim at what he sees as indoctrination in schools
In long tradition of antebellum pro-Confederate propaganda, DeSantis is attempting to rewrite the racism out of American history. This is nothing more than a rebranding of the old Daughters of the Confederacy program of indoctrination of school kids with Lost Cause mythology.
“Takes aim …at indoctrination in schools”
Every accusation is a confession.
In long tradition of antebellum pro-Confederate propaganda, DeSantis is attempting to rewrite the racism out of American history. This is nothing more than a rebranding of the old Daughters of the Confederacy program of indoctrination of school kids with Lost Cause mythology.
“Takes aim …at indoctrination in schools”
Every accusation is a confession.
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samedi 20 août 2022
Five year old wields shotgun at police after a murder
For the life of me, I cannot fathom how this could be considered "normal" in the USA.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-forest-police
Quote:
|
When Adam Simjee and his girlfriend Mikayla Paulus stopped their car in the Talladega national forest in Alabama last week, after being flagged down by what the college students thought was a stranded driver, the couple did not think much of it. But the “stranded driver” – a woman named Yasmine Hider – turned out to be a gun-wielding robber who forced Simjee, 22, and Paulus, 20, to walk into the woods. Simjee pulled out his own handgun and shot Hider in defense of his girlfriend and himself, but he did not survive the confrontation – police allege Hider shot him dead. In another moment defying logic, the five-year-old child of a woman accompanying Hider held a loaded shotgun as police swarmed the forest to investigate. The child did not fire. |
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Why do we ignore the moon (NASA wise)?
I guess a short answer could be "well it's just a rock and we probably know about all there is to know about it." I get that but it seems to me we have better and more in-depth pictures of the Mars landscape than the Moon, which is far closer and far easier and cheaper to do. At the least it seems odd to me that of our numerous probes we've sent to wherever over the years that at least one or two didn't, on the way, get some newer and better pics of the Moon... especially, why wouldn't we by now have captured a nice closeup pic of our earlier landing sites, the flag, etc? I would think that would resonate with people (and perhaps shut up the "Moon landing is a hoax" people once and for all).
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Finnish PM Sanna Marin in Hot Water over Party Videos
So, the Finnish Prime Minister has found herself mired in controversy over leaked videos of her partying wildly in various private apartments and at a nightclub, where she is seen with some guy necking her, despite a highly publicised recent romantic wedding and birth of a daughter.
Some believe the leak is to do with Russian anti-NATO propaganda. Others that it is closer to home, with opposition leader Riika Purra of the Basic Finns (perusuomalaiset) seizing on the opportunity to state it is behaviour unbecoming of a prime minister, who represents the Social Democrats in a coalition government. Her predecessor, Antti Rinne, had to stand down because of a controversy, so I wonder if this will happen here, too.
The problem is, audio-analysis confirms that a voice in the background in one of the videos is definitely shouting 'jauhojengi!' Jauho is Finnish for 'flour' or any ground substance, such as mince and 'jenkki' is slang for gang (usually the now banned Hells Angels-style MC Cannonball, United Brotherhood and their off-shoots, linked with organised crime such as drug dealing). Given that in Finland recent drug smugglers of cocaine have been given extraordinarily long sentences, one can see that a country's prime minister is unwise to be associated with a crowd that champions the use of such products, even in jest. The yelling of 'powder gang!' and the frantic euphoric dancing has caused suspicion, resulting in Marin now having taken a drugs test.
The other criticism re the impression it sends in respect of the serious situation with Russia can be safely deflected as it is the President, Sauli Niinisto who is in charge of the Defence Forces and who report to him, not to Marin.
[yt]l21A3tS6_vs[/yt]
Some believe the leak is to do with Russian anti-NATO propaganda. Others that it is closer to home, with opposition leader Riika Purra of the Basic Finns (perusuomalaiset) seizing on the opportunity to state it is behaviour unbecoming of a prime minister, who represents the Social Democrats in a coalition government. Her predecessor, Antti Rinne, had to stand down because of a controversy, so I wonder if this will happen here, too.
The problem is, audio-analysis confirms that a voice in the background in one of the videos is definitely shouting 'jauhojengi!' Jauho is Finnish for 'flour' or any ground substance, such as mince and 'jenkki' is slang for gang (usually the now banned Hells Angels-style MC Cannonball, United Brotherhood and their off-shoots, linked with organised crime such as drug dealing). Given that in Finland recent drug smugglers of cocaine have been given extraordinarily long sentences, one can see that a country's prime minister is unwise to be associated with a crowd that champions the use of such products, even in jest. The yelling of 'powder gang!' and the frantic euphoric dancing has caused suspicion, resulting in Marin now having taken a drugs test.
The other criticism re the impression it sends in respect of the serious situation with Russia can be safely deflected as it is the President, Sauli Niinisto who is in charge of the Defence Forces and who report to him, not to Marin.
[yt]l21A3tS6_vs[/yt]
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vendredi 19 août 2022
Michael Heiser's Modern Megalithic "City"
"City, a vast complex of outdoor structures and landmasses the Land artist Michael Heizer began constructing in the desert of Nevada in 1970, will finally begin welcoming public visitors next month. The site’s opening on 2 September, more than 50 years after work at the site began, marks the fulfillment of Heizer’s most ambitious and career-defining project.
"City has been described as quite possibly the largest contemporary artwork on the planet, stretching more than a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, evoking the scale of ancient sites like Native American mounds, Mesoamerican metropolises and Egyptian devotional complexes."
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022...opening-public
Cool? Pretentious? Something else?
I think it sounds amazing, but would love to see it for myself.
"City has been described as quite possibly the largest contemporary artwork on the planet, stretching more than a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, evoking the scale of ancient sites like Native American mounds, Mesoamerican metropolises and Egyptian devotional complexes."
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022...opening-public
Cool? Pretentious? Something else?
I think it sounds amazing, but would love to see it for myself.
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"Upsetting" statue in Cornwall
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...church-leaders
Oh dear! Some religionistas are finding a statue upsetting...
Personally it's not much to my taste, but really church bods, can you not find some real issues to be annoyed about?
Oh dear! Some religionistas are finding a statue upsetting...
Personally it's not much to my taste, but really church bods, can you not find some real issues to be annoyed about?
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jeudi 18 août 2022
Could we do a better job with the world than God did?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Lukraak_Sisser (Post 13880556)
That's the thing.
We *could* do better. Our morality now is better than that of the supposedly morally superior god. If that is not a sign that the various holy texts are anything but holy, then what is? |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by psionl0 (Post 13880809)
Could we?
War, poverty, hunger, disease, crime, injustice etc seem to be just as prevalent as they have always been and I see little evidence that any real solutions are on the way. Some of us might have more time to chew the fat on various issues than in the past but that doesn't make us more moral than our ancestors. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Lukraak_Sisser (Post 13880928)
Assuming the powers of a god, yes we could.
I'm not saying we are perfect, but we'd dp better than the abrahamic god. |
Normally the existence of all of the evil in this world is taken as evidence that there is no god or that if God exists then he must be a pretty unsavoury character.
But assuming that God made the world the way it is today, what would be the strategy that we could employ if we had God-like powers? Would we do away with free will and make it impossible for people to do evil things? Would we remove evil people from the world? How would we decide when somebody has lost the right to exist in this world? Is it ok if the occasional good person has to be eradicated for the "greater good" (the needs of the many etc etc)?
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mercredi 17 août 2022
Mosque bombed in Kabul, many casualties....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...h-kabul-mosque
Looks as if ISIS/Islamic State is responsible.
SO now the Taliban is under attack for not being extreme enough.
Oh, the, Irony.
Looks as if ISIS/Islamic State is responsible.
SO now the Taliban is under attack for not being extreme enough.
Oh, the, Irony.
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The current state of the art in self-driving vehicles
Well, it's not Tesla. It's Waymo (formerly Google's self-driving car project, now a separate company owned by Google's holding company).
Unlike Tesla's "Full Self Driving" feature, which is not actually fully autonomous as the name would suggest, these vehicles are in fact fully autonomous.
Apologies for a video from the company itself, but this just shows how far it has come. There's no longer even a safety driver for "just-in-case" (except for when there's new software being tested).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA_-MkU0Nfw
[yt]hA_-MkU0Nfw[/yt]
The cars also don't look quite so silly anymore, in my opinion, although I'm sure the kit for all of the sensors can and will be made less obtrusive as the technology evolves.
Unlike Tesla's "Full Self Driving" feature, which is not actually fully autonomous as the name would suggest, these vehicles are in fact fully autonomous.
Apologies for a video from the company itself, but this just shows how far it has come. There's no longer even a safety driver for "just-in-case" (except for when there's new software being tested).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA_-MkU0Nfw
[yt]hA_-MkU0Nfw[/yt]
The cars also don't look quite so silly anymore, in my opinion, although I'm sure the kit for all of the sensors can and will be made less obtrusive as the technology evolves.
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[Split Thread] Liz Cheney GOP Primary Loss
Liz loses the primary which comes as no surprise to anyone. I never, ever thought I'd be hoping a Cheney won, but her election denying, Trump backed rival is far worse. Wyoming should be ashamed of itself.
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mardi 16 août 2022
Is z redshift right?
The unitless value z is what denotes redshift.
At z=1, we are half way to the beginning of time.
At z=infinity, we are at the beginning of time.
It's 1/(z+1).
So at z=2 we see the universe at 1/3 its current age. z=9 is 1/10th.
The CMB is at z=1100.
The difference between z=0 and z=1 is 7 billion years.
The difference between z=9 and z=1100 is 1.3 billion years.
A lot depends on this being right.
What if it isn't?
At z=1, we are half way to the beginning of time.
At z=infinity, we are at the beginning of time.
It's 1/(z+1).
So at z=2 we see the universe at 1/3 its current age. z=9 is 1/10th.
The CMB is at z=1100.
The difference between z=0 and z=1 is 7 billion years.
The difference between z=9 and z=1100 is 1.3 billion years.
A lot depends on this being right.
What if it isn't?
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lundi 15 août 2022
Wanky research pulled off website
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10....87941221096600
Thought about sharing this one in the science and tech forum, but then I don't think this paper advances the state of human knowledge in any meaningful way.
Here is a preview of the article back when it was still on the website:
Attachment 47067
Thought about sharing this one in the science and tech forum, but then I don't think this paper advances the state of human knowledge in any meaningful way.
Here is a preview of the article back when it was still on the website:
Attachment 47067
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dimanche 14 août 2022
Interpreting the constitution and your politics
This keeps coming up a lot that by arguing the constitutional positions I do that I'm defending the bad acts done by people like Trump. In general, I argue that the conservative/Republican constitution. But it isn't a conservative value.
Liberals generally believe the liberal constitution and that it a good thing. Conservatives believe the conservative constitution and that is a good thing.
I believe the constitution is conservative and that is a bad thing.
But for some reason, most people seem to think the constitution is good enough and favors their positions which produce good. And I don't understand how so many arrive at that position. Americans don't generally go around thinking Juche is aligned with their political philosophy and it is Kim jong Un is perverting it.
It reminds me of the phrase, "isnt it convenient that you were born in the country where the majority of the population belongs to the one true religion." It makes less sense that progressivism aligns with a 250 year old document than a conservative one. At least conservatives can point to their judges value women and minorities as lesser citizens just like the voters for the constitution did.
Liberals generally believe the liberal constitution and that it a good thing. Conservatives believe the conservative constitution and that is a good thing.
I believe the constitution is conservative and that is a bad thing.
But for some reason, most people seem to think the constitution is good enough and favors their positions which produce good. And I don't understand how so many arrive at that position. Americans don't generally go around thinking Juche is aligned with their political philosophy and it is Kim jong Un is perverting it.
It reminds me of the phrase, "isnt it convenient that you were born in the country where the majority of the population belongs to the one true religion." It makes less sense that progressivism aligns with a 250 year old document than a conservative one. At least conservatives can point to their judges value women and minorities as lesser citizens just like the voters for the constitution did.
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Will Trump be indicted?
Trump is facing possible indictment for Federal crimes. He's also facing possible indictment for election crimes in Georgia.
Will he be indicted? I say its 50/50.
What say you?
Will he be indicted? I say its 50/50.
What say you?
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Vaccines - The Zenith Of Preventative Medicine (Looking At Lives Saved)
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Didn't My Learned Forum Companions SAY that Kentucky VS. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WAS FAKE?
When I talked about the Kentucky VS. LINCOLN HERE NO ONE BELIEVED ME,
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THAT THREAD IS NOW?
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25707351
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THAT THREAD IS NOW?
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25707351
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Will Biden Declare the Insurrection act if Trump supporters attack FBI?
Do you think Biden will Declare the Insurrection act, if Insane Trump supporters start attacking the DOJ after Trump is indicted, and Instigates Violence like another January 6th?
Your thoughts please.
Your thoughts please.
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samedi 13 août 2022
Richard Glossip
Richard Glossip is about to follow Cameron Todd Willingham and Larry Swearingen to the death gurney as a man who has proved his innocence. This is quite uncommon, as the American system is better at correcting errors than countries like New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Suffice it to say the silence in this sub forum is deafening, I guess I share the blame.
There is plenty of material including books to clarify what has happened, and I am working from memory, but the motive was alleged to be misappropriation of motel funds. This was proved incorrect with documentation that was recorded, but of course destroyed, as I recall.
The question I pose is how can this happen?
Here is a link that reminded me of this pending event.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/han...TZQYYPBJMAWJ4/
Suffice it to say the silence in this sub forum is deafening, I guess I share the blame.
There is plenty of material including books to clarify what has happened, and I am working from memory, but the motive was alleged to be misappropriation of motel funds. This was proved incorrect with documentation that was recorded, but of course destroyed, as I recall.
The question I pose is how can this happen?
Here is a link that reminded me of this pending event.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/han...TZQYYPBJMAWJ4/
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NHS advertises for Reiki practitioner
The NHS (UK) is advertising for a 'qualified and experienced as a Spiritual Healer /Reiki Therapist' who has completed a specific 'Healing in Hospitals' course offered by this complementary therapy trust.
A lot of people are saying this is a waste of NHS money, but apparently the trust funds the employment. Is this harmless?
A lot of people are saying this is a waste of NHS money, but apparently the trust funds the employment. Is this harmless?
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Calvine UFO / UAP photo
I couldn't find a thread on this - does anyone have a view on the new photo that Dr David Clarke has discovered, and/or on his revised opinion (published yesterday) on the Calvine UFO photo? He now claims it to be some sort of US government 'black' aircraft project;
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2022/08/...-ufo-revealed/
Link includes reasonably high res version of the photo showing a diamond-shaped object. For me the problem is that just because it's (probably) not a fake and (almost certainly) not an alien spacecraft, we can't assume that it's a totally unknown type of terrestrial aircraft either, surely?
edit - I suppose the presence of a Harrier jet does point toward something military-related. Perhaps an aerial radar target of some kind.
edit 2 - Metabunk have picked it up; https://www.metabunk.org/threads/cla...1/#post-276519
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2022/08/...-ufo-revealed/
Link includes reasonably high res version of the photo showing a diamond-shaped object. For me the problem is that just because it's (probably) not a fake and (almost certainly) not an alien spacecraft, we can't assume that it's a totally unknown type of terrestrial aircraft either, surely?
edit - I suppose the presence of a Harrier jet does point toward something military-related. Perhaps an aerial radar target of some kind.
edit 2 - Metabunk have picked it up; https://www.metabunk.org/threads/cla...1/#post-276519
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vendredi 12 août 2022
Constantinople (Not Istanbul)
Bringing here a thread I started elsewhere, partly because I'm interested if my research is faulty.
The history of this city, and the Byzantines in general (entwined with the late Roman Empire) has become a fascination for me, partly from my enthusiasm for Civ games. So, a thread.
Part of my interest began as an extension of realizing that the "Byzantine" empire was really just the Eastern Roman Empire, and basically what was left of the Roman Empire after the Western side fell. From there I found out that the emperor Justinian I actually managed to bring Rome back within the empire's borders for a time. This theme of a last holdout managing to persist, and sometimes thrive, appeals to me in some way. A city built so strong it seemed to hold back the inevitable tide of history.
Upon encountering a tidbit about it online I went looking for whether there were any Roman holdouts after Constantinople fell, and there were! The last of these seem to be the Principality of Theodoro, which like Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, but in 1475, which was another 22 years afterwards.
Pictured: artist rendering of Byzantine Constantinople from vividmaps.com (imgur host)
The history of this city, and the Byzantines in general (entwined with the late Roman Empire) has become a fascination for me, partly from my enthusiasm for Civ games. So, a thread.
Part of my interest began as an extension of realizing that the "Byzantine" empire was really just the Eastern Roman Empire, and basically what was left of the Roman Empire after the Western side fell. From there I found out that the emperor Justinian I actually managed to bring Rome back within the empire's borders for a time. This theme of a last holdout managing to persist, and sometimes thrive, appeals to me in some way. A city built so strong it seemed to hold back the inevitable tide of history.
Upon encountering a tidbit about it online I went looking for whether there were any Roman holdouts after Constantinople fell, and there were! The last of these seem to be the Principality of Theodoro, which like Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, but in 1475, which was another 22 years afterwards.
Pictured: artist rendering of Byzantine Constantinople from vividmaps.com (imgur host)
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Extremist Trump fan attacks FBI
So a major fan of Donald Trump and a prolific user of his "Truth Social" media platform, attacked the FBI office in Cincinnati and then shot at FBI agents as he was pursued. He is now dead.
His account on Truth Social is full of violent and revolutionary rhetoric in support of Trump. We can only assume that he believes the 2020 election was stolen and the January 6th insurrection was legal adjust.
I believe we will see more events like this as long as people disregard how dangerous these folks are.
https://apnews.com/article/fbi-offic...fb15639075d0fe
Edit. Turns out he was at the Capitol on January 6th. Shocker.
His account on Truth Social is full of violent and revolutionary rhetoric in support of Trump. We can only assume that he believes the 2020 election was stolen and the January 6th insurrection was legal adjust.
I believe we will see more events like this as long as people disregard how dangerous these folks are.
https://apnews.com/article/fbi-offic...fb15639075d0fe
Edit. Turns out he was at the Capitol on January 6th. Shocker.
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Author Salman Rushdie, attacked, possibly stabbed onstage in New York
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jeudi 11 août 2022
https://ift.tt/9d7Vv3s
Whole Foods CEO: "Socialists are taking over"
No, they don't want to work for **** wages for lying bastards like you.
I've got a better idea for what you should do with your time: Go **** yourself, *******!
Quote:
|
Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey fears that socialism is on the rise in the U.S. "My concern is that I feel like socialists are taking over," Mackey, who is set to retire from the Amazon-owned grocery chain at the end of the month after 44 years at the company, said in a podcast this week with Reason Magazine. "They're marching through the institutions." Socialists have "taken over education. It looks like they've taken over a lot of the corporations. It looks like they've taken over the military. And it's just continuing — so I'm deeply concerned," he added. Mackey, who espouses the idea of "conscious capitalism" — which he describes as a management philosophy focused on ethical ways of doing business — also questioned the work ethic of younger Americans. "I feel like I've become my father. I don't understand the younger generation — they don't seem to want to work," Mackey, 68, told Reason, saying that the enhanced unemployment benefits offered to people who lost jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic had make it hard for Whole Foods to find workers. |
Quote:
|
After winding up his career at Whole Foods, Mackey plans to launch a chain of restaurants specializing in plant-based foods, along with medical wellness centers, according to Bloomberg. |
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SCOTUS to rule on race in college admissions
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sup...ity-admissions
The Supreme Court will hear a case in October that could decide if colleges can legally use race as a factor when deciding admissions. The pro say that diversity is a legal and moral objective and its fair to use race as one of many criteria to decide if a student should or should not be admitted. The con, say using race as a factor at all when deciding to admit or reject a student, violates the Civil Rights Act and is repugnant and unfair.
Personally I don't care if an entire class at Harvard is all Chinese or Jews, if they are the ones who get the best scores. That's what this is really all about.
The Supreme Court will hear a case in October that could decide if colleges can legally use race as a factor when deciding admissions. The pro say that diversity is a legal and moral objective and its fair to use race as one of many criteria to decide if a student should or should not be admitted. The con, say using race as a factor at all when deciding to admit or reject a student, violates the Civil Rights Act and is repugnant and unfair.
Personally I don't care if an entire class at Harvard is all Chinese or Jews, if they are the ones who get the best scores. That's what this is really all about.
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Right Wing Terrorism
Right wing terrorism has been on the rise for a while now and it's only going to accelerate with the Republican politicians and propaganda outlets encouragement of such violent actions from their base.
This thread is to catalog and discuss these incidents.
To start us off we have a terrorist action against the FBI.
Suspect Threatens FBI In Cincinnati, Trades Gunfire With Police
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shots...a517ef67b65?wt
And then there is the judge who signed the Trump warrant receiving death threats.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy73...einhart-doxxed
Also apologies for the poor formatting. Limited time and trying to do this from my phone.
This thread is to catalog and discuss these incidents.
To start us off we have a terrorist action against the FBI.
Suspect Threatens FBI In Cincinnati, Trades Gunfire With Police
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shots...a517ef67b65?wt
Quote:
|
Police have exchanged gunfire with an armed man after he made threats at an FBI building in Cincinnati, according to reports. |
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy73...einhart-doxxed
Quote:
|
Far-right extremists on pro-Donald Trump message boards and social networks are making violent, antisemitic threats against the judge who reportedly signed the warrant that allowed the FBI to search the former president's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Multiple members of these toxic online communities are even posting what appears to be Judge Bruce Reinhart’s home address, phone numbers, and names of his family members alongside threats of extreme violence. |
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3 killed, 39 homes destroyed in explosion of unknown origin in Evansville, Illinois
(CNN)- Authorities have yet to determine the cause of a house explosion Wednesday that left three people dead and damaged at least 39 homes in Evansville, Indiana, the city's fire chief said.
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/us/ev...ion/index.html
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/us/ev...ion/index.html
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mercredi 10 août 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act
I always get the feeling that a lot of the locals on this forum are state employees, or beholden to the state in other ways. There is good news for them; the Biden admin has just presented a bill, the almost spitefully named Inflation Reduction Act, which will very likely sail through Congress, that will (among a raft of other things) authorise a massive increase the budget allocation for the IRS, $80 billion over ten years, potentially doubling the numbers of IRS commissars agents over that period.
It means (can ONLY mean) one or both of two things for 'ordinary', private, working citizens;
- being screwed out of more money by the state
- being criminalised by the state.
Isn't it great!?
It means (can ONLY mean) one or both of two things for 'ordinary', private, working citizens;
- being screwed out of more money by the state
- being criminalised by the state.
Isn't it great!?
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mardi 9 août 2022
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
Tesla still having problems
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
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Afterlife: Proof!
Back in the '90s I took care of an elderly man till he breathed his last.
At the time of his passing there was some unexplained phenomena with the lights in his home. At the time I was so intrigued as to think these might be indicative of his soul making a scene upon departure.
I wrote the incident down for his daughter in law and still have the account which I'm posting here.
"Dear Adrienna,
As you requested, I’ll write down a brief account of the matter with the kitchen light switch. It was a small anomaly, but the timing was significant, and it was not so uncommon an event. There are few families who don’t have something to tell of moved portraits, fallen objects, telephone rings, flickering lights, and even apparitions at the moment of the departure of a loved one.
I was up late last night writing out the first account which came to be too long with too much of my own interpretation. I’ll cut all of that here, leaving it for you and yours to make sense of it in your own relationship with Harold.
As I said, I was at the stove stirring ramen when the lights flickered. That was my first take on it as I began to wonder if a PG and E outage was immanent. But I realized it had only been the kitchen ceiling light.
Very soon the kitchen light went out altogether, this while I was still at the stove attending to my meal. Since there wasn’t the pop of an expended bulb, and all the other lights were on, I thought perhaps a breaker had shut. It happens from time to time. So I took my pan off the stove and headed for the hallway to check the box. That’s when I saw the kitchen ceiling light switch was in the down position, just as if someone had flipped it off. I flipped it back up, and the light came on as normally.
Since I’ve read and heard of little signs about the departing and had already been frequently checking on Harold, since we knew it could be any time, I immediately went to his bedside, but didn’t remain because he seemed to be breathing in the same fashion as he had the last time I looked in on him.
I returned to the kitchen and dumped my ramen into a bowl, but before I could set down to it, I felt I needed to go back to Harold.
I found he wasn’t breathing. I listened closely and tried to take his pulse. There wasn’t any. Also his forehead was growing cooler, and I couldn’t feel the pressure of his life-force or “aura” as I was accustomed. (Earlier in the hour when Bonnie and I had turned him on his side, I’d noticed that it was exceptionally “warm.” Not his body temperature but the “aura” in the region of his forehead. Being inexperienced in interpreting these things, I hadn’t known what to make of it.) Now it was absent.
Sorry for the almost clinical details. I wanted to be sure before I marked down the time (between 4:45 and 4:55 when I called for Bob). The important thing is that his passing was brief and tranquil without a struggle. No more than two or three minutes passed between the first check when he still appeared to be breathing and the second when he was done.
For the sake of the skeptic in me, I examined the light switch. There was no way it could have been caught half on half off and flipped off of itself. And though when very tired I absentmindedly do things, I wasn’t so tired as to flip off the switch myself, and I was at the stove when it happened. Also there wasn’t a momentary power outage, for that’s all it takes to mess up the digital clock on the top of the TV. It would have been blinking.
If the event had the purpose of getting my attention, I wish I had paid more, waiting at his bedside from the first check. Thankfully all our prayers that it would be an easy and gentle time for him were answered. His expression was peaceful as if in a restful sleep."
You have it right there folks. How else could have the lighting gone weird this way except H.W's. spirit making the last tour of his home before venturing off to the Astral Plane?
[Disclaimers:
1. In those days I was into "Energy Healing" woo-woo. I could "feel" "auras."
After playing with this stuff for a few years, I saw enough to dismiss it as illusion and the placebo effect.
2. There's nothing here that proves anything about a soul life after death. There isn't even a photographical ghost. There's only something that happened with the lights.
3. The wisdom achieved with doing the three score and ten has included the fact that it is easy for me to fool myself.]
At the time of his passing there was some unexplained phenomena with the lights in his home. At the time I was so intrigued as to think these might be indicative of his soul making a scene upon departure.
I wrote the incident down for his daughter in law and still have the account which I'm posting here.
"Dear Adrienna,
As you requested, I’ll write down a brief account of the matter with the kitchen light switch. It was a small anomaly, but the timing was significant, and it was not so uncommon an event. There are few families who don’t have something to tell of moved portraits, fallen objects, telephone rings, flickering lights, and even apparitions at the moment of the departure of a loved one.
I was up late last night writing out the first account which came to be too long with too much of my own interpretation. I’ll cut all of that here, leaving it for you and yours to make sense of it in your own relationship with Harold.
As I said, I was at the stove stirring ramen when the lights flickered. That was my first take on it as I began to wonder if a PG and E outage was immanent. But I realized it had only been the kitchen ceiling light.
Very soon the kitchen light went out altogether, this while I was still at the stove attending to my meal. Since there wasn’t the pop of an expended bulb, and all the other lights were on, I thought perhaps a breaker had shut. It happens from time to time. So I took my pan off the stove and headed for the hallway to check the box. That’s when I saw the kitchen ceiling light switch was in the down position, just as if someone had flipped it off. I flipped it back up, and the light came on as normally.
Since I’ve read and heard of little signs about the departing and had already been frequently checking on Harold, since we knew it could be any time, I immediately went to his bedside, but didn’t remain because he seemed to be breathing in the same fashion as he had the last time I looked in on him.
I returned to the kitchen and dumped my ramen into a bowl, but before I could set down to it, I felt I needed to go back to Harold.
I found he wasn’t breathing. I listened closely and tried to take his pulse. There wasn’t any. Also his forehead was growing cooler, and I couldn’t feel the pressure of his life-force or “aura” as I was accustomed. (Earlier in the hour when Bonnie and I had turned him on his side, I’d noticed that it was exceptionally “warm.” Not his body temperature but the “aura” in the region of his forehead. Being inexperienced in interpreting these things, I hadn’t known what to make of it.) Now it was absent.
Sorry for the almost clinical details. I wanted to be sure before I marked down the time (between 4:45 and 4:55 when I called for Bob). The important thing is that his passing was brief and tranquil without a struggle. No more than two or three minutes passed between the first check when he still appeared to be breathing and the second when he was done.
For the sake of the skeptic in me, I examined the light switch. There was no way it could have been caught half on half off and flipped off of itself. And though when very tired I absentmindedly do things, I wasn’t so tired as to flip off the switch myself, and I was at the stove when it happened. Also there wasn’t a momentary power outage, for that’s all it takes to mess up the digital clock on the top of the TV. It would have been blinking.
If the event had the purpose of getting my attention, I wish I had paid more, waiting at his bedside from the first check. Thankfully all our prayers that it would be an easy and gentle time for him were answered. His expression was peaceful as if in a restful sleep."
You have it right there folks. How else could have the lighting gone weird this way except H.W's. spirit making the last tour of his home before venturing off to the Astral Plane?
[Disclaimers:
1. In those days I was into "Energy Healing" woo-woo. I could "feel" "auras."
After playing with this stuff for a few years, I saw enough to dismiss it as illusion and the placebo effect.
2. There's nothing here that proves anything about a soul life after death. There isn't even a photographical ghost. There's only something that happened with the lights.
3. The wisdom achieved with doing the three score and ten has included the fact that it is easy for me to fool myself.]
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lundi 8 août 2022
FBI Raid Trump's house at Mar-a-Lago
Quote:
|
The FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Monday, a move that represents a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the former president. Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement, asserted that agents had opened up a safe at his home and described their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.” The search intensifies the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in more than a dozen boxes located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. It occurs amid a separate grand jury investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and adds to the potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for another run. |
I have mixed feelings about the news of the FBI raiding Trump's lair. I mean, the guy is a ******* of course, but it does not really have a "good look" vibe about it if it appears to be politically motivated. I think most people would have had a bad reaction if Trump's DOJ had sent the FBI to raid Hillary Clinton's house. But this thread from Ken White argues that the bar for getting this warrant is presumably high and he believes it will have passed the necessary oversight.
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1556777965937037312
So what do you think? Give me your hot takes!
Is this a low-down dirty tricks maneuvre by the radical woke agenda or something?
Is this perfectly above board?
Is it way past time that this happened?
Or, are you one of those feeble-minded people who want to wait for the "dust to settle" and for "evidence" and "reason" before coming to a judgment?
Let's have a heated debate!
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samedi 6 août 2022
A Game a Computer Cannot Beat
Chess? Big deal - the moves are limited to what's possible, and as any pro poker will tell you, poker is all about the odds, so ideal for a computer. Bridge? Pathetically stupid game that a clever 7-year-old can win at.
There is a game I seriously doubt a computer's ability to win: Spades, the four-player version.
If you don't know the game well, you probably won't get it, but I'm supremely confident that with one of my two regular partners, a pair of computers* could not beat us.
The problem for a computer is that it will rely on logic, and you can win at spades by playing illogically. I don't see any way you could build a Deep Blue to cope with the infinite ability of the human brain to think outside the framework of logical conclusions.
*They cannot communicate with each other during play, just as the human players can't.
There is a game I seriously doubt a computer's ability to win: Spades, the four-player version.
If you don't know the game well, you probably won't get it, but I'm supremely confident that with one of my two regular partners, a pair of computers* could not beat us.
The problem for a computer is that it will rely on logic, and you can win at spades by playing illogically. I don't see any way you could build a Deep Blue to cope with the infinite ability of the human brain to think outside the framework of logical conclusions.
*They cannot communicate with each other during play, just as the human players can't.
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Alien Visitation Contact Proof
As a new user here, links are forbidden until I make 15 posts, so you will have to copy and paste ... unless mod can sort it
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm_2zaSZljs
Short
youtube.com/watch?v=cnQ8mq40jsQ
Slowed down
youtube.com/watch?v=1hQszQ01X_4
Further slowed
youtube.com/watch?v=SDq5ZTa9PoQ
Raw 60 seconds footage
youtube.com/watch?v=SDq5ZTa9PoQ
Power coming back on..
youtube.com/watch?v=mh1j9vI4Fdk
And a car backing (for comparison)
youtube.com/watch?v=-lTjK2PS7mQ
I have ruled out...
Fireworks
Meteors
Brown outs
Transformer arcing
Power line arcing
Reflection from re entering satellites
People sky diving with Laser Flashlights
Traffic (as there clearly wasn't any)
Man made anything
Ignoring the RED LIGHT when the power goes out, that's my power outage light as shown in all the videos..
Explain the flash of light at 3 57 and 15s
Explain the missing time at 3 57 and 09s
3am 57m 09s is when you see a brief flash of light at the tip of the tree followed by missing time, at 15s the light beam is what put me or my wife or both of us back....*
at 3am 57m and 09 seconds is completely missing!* count from 3am 57m an 05, 06, 07... where is the 9th second????
3:57:15s for the alien search beam...only lasts a second blink and miss
this is my front window, the power goes out you see the street lamps fade out not surge or flash or flicker etc...
5 seconds after the power goes out a search light can be seen scanning the ground, the webcamera hears me or the misses snoring, it hears the fridge compressor cut out and it goes silent right at the beginning*
then the search beam light hits the camera and you can actually hear the digital alien signal...*
the neighbour to the left was awake, no traffic, helicopters, it's dead here at 4am! no meteors no fireworks, no arcing no fireworks
the damn craft was silent, its power source tripped the power line and it's search beam stopped at my bedroom window ..
I felt tired for days later like I missed 6 or 7 hours of sleep, but if it happened it was in an instant.**
TURN UP THE VOLUME... you can actually hear* the alien signal, nothing of man does this, I have the raw video segment
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm_2zaSZljs
Short
youtube.com/watch?v=cnQ8mq40jsQ
Slowed down
youtube.com/watch?v=1hQszQ01X_4
Further slowed
youtube.com/watch?v=SDq5ZTa9PoQ
Raw 60 seconds footage
youtube.com/watch?v=SDq5ZTa9PoQ
Power coming back on..
youtube.com/watch?v=mh1j9vI4Fdk
And a car backing (for comparison)
youtube.com/watch?v=-lTjK2PS7mQ
I have ruled out...
Fireworks
Meteors
Brown outs
Transformer arcing
Power line arcing
Reflection from re entering satellites
People sky diving with Laser Flashlights
Traffic (as there clearly wasn't any)
Man made anything
Ignoring the RED LIGHT when the power goes out, that's my power outage light as shown in all the videos..
Explain the flash of light at 3 57 and 15s
Explain the missing time at 3 57 and 09s
3am 57m 09s is when you see a brief flash of light at the tip of the tree followed by missing time, at 15s the light beam is what put me or my wife or both of us back....*
at 3am 57m and 09 seconds is completely missing!* count from 3am 57m an 05, 06, 07... where is the 9th second????
3:57:15s for the alien search beam...only lasts a second blink and miss
this is my front window, the power goes out you see the street lamps fade out not surge or flash or flicker etc...
5 seconds after the power goes out a search light can be seen scanning the ground, the webcamera hears me or the misses snoring, it hears the fridge compressor cut out and it goes silent right at the beginning*
then the search beam light hits the camera and you can actually hear the digital alien signal...*
the neighbour to the left was awake, no traffic, helicopters, it's dead here at 4am! no meteors no fireworks, no arcing no fireworks
the damn craft was silent, its power source tripped the power line and it's search beam stopped at my bedroom window ..
I felt tired for days later like I missed 6 or 7 hours of sleep, but if it happened it was in an instant.**
TURN UP THE VOLUME... you can actually hear* the alien signal, nothing of man does this, I have the raw video segment
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Good News on the Black Hole Front
If anyone has been following along since Stephen Hawking died.
Black Holes Finally Proven Mathematically Stable
There is still much work left to be done as:
If some one would care to produce a 200 page summary, it may help my lay comprehension as:
:boggled:
Black Holes Finally Proven Mathematically Stable
There is still much work left to be done as:
Quote:
|
So far, stability has only been proved for slowly rotating black holes — where the ratio of the black hole’s angular momentum to its mass is much less than 1. It has not yet been demonstrated that rapidly rotating black holes are also stable. In addition, the researchers did not determine precisely how small the ratio of angular momentum to mass has to be in order to ensure stability. |
Quote:
|
In a 912-page paper posted online on May 30, Szeftel, Elena Giorgi of Columbia University and Sergiu Klainerman of Princeton University have proved that slowly rotating Kerr black holes are indeed stable. The work is the product of a multiyear effort. The entire proof — consisting of the new work, an 800-page paper by Klainerman and Szeftel from 2021, plus three background papers that established various mathematical tools — totals roughly 2,100 pages in all. |
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vendredi 5 août 2022
John Shelby Spong - Christianity Without Theism
Just reading (for the second time) "The Sins Of Scripture" by John Shelby Spong and (as I did the first time) find his propositions confounding.
Spong rejects just about everything written in the Bible, both Old and New, and still insists on describing himself as a Christian. He even rejects theism and redefines God as a quality in man, that is evolving, and not a separate entity.
I do agree with every criticism he makes about existing Christianity however. :thumbsup:
Spong rejects just about everything written in the Bible, both Old and New, and still insists on describing himself as a Christian. He even rejects theism and redefines God as a quality in man, that is evolving, and not a separate entity.
I do agree with every criticism he makes about existing Christianity however. :thumbsup:
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Half Baked Political Reform
I heard an interesting but probably not really well thought out idea for partial reform of the US military industrial complex.
Give someone in the Defense Department to veto any congresionally authorized spending the military doesn't want.
So, pretty much every military budget there's some extra spending for things the military doesn't want because some congressman doesn't want to loose jobs in their district. So, let the Joint Chiefs or President say, no.
It would be a marginal difference I'm sure, still I kind of like it.
Anyrate, post your not necessarily well thought out ideas. No fully fleshed out ideas please.
Give someone in the Defense Department to veto any congresionally authorized spending the military doesn't want.
So, pretty much every military budget there's some extra spending for things the military doesn't want because some congressman doesn't want to loose jobs in their district. So, let the Joint Chiefs or President say, no.
It would be a marginal difference I'm sure, still I kind of like it.
Anyrate, post your not necessarily well thought out ideas. No fully fleshed out ideas please.
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[Continuation] General UK Politics III - Dumb and Dumber
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Vixen (Post 13868714)
Throwing out EU-based laws is really stupid IMV as the laws were perfectly sound and voted through democratically by, er....the government.
|
Most of the ones that were implemented as UK legislation will have been Statutory Instruments made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 so won’t generally have needed a vote. And EU regulations generally had direct effect without needing national implementation.
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mercredi 3 août 2022
Kentucky floods
Maybe it's no worse than some other catastrophes, but the reports out of Kentucky are heartbreaking. Four children in one family washed away, smashed houses stacked atop each other, bodies still being found. This is not a well-off region. How can they even begin to clean up, let alone move forward?
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Jackie Walorski, Indiana Congresswoman, killed in traffic accident.
Indiana Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski has died in a car accident along with two (as of this post unnamed) other people.
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/03/polit...can/index.html
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/03/polit...can/index.html
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Answer to the Problem of Evil
My Turkish article translated with machine:
https://free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9611966.0
Peace
https://free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9611966.0
Peace
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Question about Expanding Universe
Two questions, actually:
(1) Sure, the universe's expanding. But then we're part of that expansion, right? That is, our bodies too are expanding, aren't they? The distances/space between our cells, and therefore the size of our bodies, and also the size of our telescopes and whatnot? Does that not kinda sorta cancel out, then? That is, vaster spaces will obviously expand vastly more, but the proportionality of it? (Well, clearly that isn't how that works, I guess. We wouldn't even be talking about an expanding universe otherwise. But I was wondering why not.)
(2) Does everything expand? Even at the teeny-tiny quantum scale? Or is it only at the 'regular' scale, where QM doesn't directly come in? (So that, as far as our bodies, is it only our the distance/space between our cells that's expanding along with the expanding universe; or would that expansion apply also to inter-molecular space/distances, maybe even sub-atomic space/distances?
(1) Sure, the universe's expanding. But then we're part of that expansion, right? That is, our bodies too are expanding, aren't they? The distances/space between our cells, and therefore the size of our bodies, and also the size of our telescopes and whatnot? Does that not kinda sorta cancel out, then? That is, vaster spaces will obviously expand vastly more, but the proportionality of it? (Well, clearly that isn't how that works, I guess. We wouldn't even be talking about an expanding universe otherwise. But I was wondering why not.)
(2) Does everything expand? Even at the teeny-tiny quantum scale? Or is it only at the 'regular' scale, where QM doesn't directly come in? (So that, as far as our bodies, is it only our the distance/space between our cells that's expanding along with the expanding universe; or would that expansion apply also to inter-molecular space/distances, maybe even sub-atomic space/distances?
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mardi 2 août 2022
Homosexuality still a sin, says Welby
Moving with the times, as ever, the Archbishop of Canterbury affirms that the position of the 1198, sorry 1998, declaration that gay sex is a sin, still holds.
This obviously has no direct bearing on pretty much all the members here, given that most are probably atheists, and few of the rest are Anglican, but it is still a disappointing statement to come out in 2022, since there are people in a position of influence who still take their guidance from the church.
[yt]dRHetRTOD1Q[/yt]
This obviously has no direct bearing on pretty much all the members here, given that most are probably atheists, and few of the rest are Anglican, but it is still a disappointing statement to come out in 2022, since there are people in a position of influence who still take their guidance from the church.
Quote:
|
In a letter sent to more than 650 bishops attending the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference just two hours before a potentially rancorous discussion on sexuality, Welby said the 1998 resolution, known as Lambeth 1.10, was “not in doubt”. Campaigners for LGBT+ equality within the church responded to Welby’s attempt to reconcile polarised views with anger. Jayne Ozanne said: “I feel deeply angry and frustrated that yet again priority has been given to saving a manmade institution over protecting LGBT+ people’s lives. “Let us be clear that Lambeth 1.10 encourages ‘conversion therapy’ and negates the God given love between two individuals. It is a stick with which many of us have been beaten and will continue to suffer under around the world.” |
[yt]dRHetRTOD1Q[/yt]
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lundi 1 août 2022
US had just conducted a military operation in Afghanistan...
WHite house will release details this evening.
I am not surprised; was pretty sure this would happen.
What has been stated it it was against Al Qaida; remember that promise the Taliban made about not letting Al Qaida type terroist group return to Afganistan?
You just cannot trust the Taliban. Period, end of discussion.
Breaking news: It's Ayman al-Zawahiri. He has beeen #1 on the target lest since Bin Ladin got his. He basically was Bin Laden Chief Of Staff, and was in charge of the detailed planning of 9/11. Won't see any tears from be on his sudden demise.
More just it; It was a Drone Strike in Kabul. which once agianst leads one to question how much we should trust the Taliban Goverment.
I am not surprised; was pretty sure this would happen.
What has been stated it it was against Al Qaida; remember that promise the Taliban made about not letting Al Qaida type terroist group return to Afganistan?
You just cannot trust the Taliban. Period, end of discussion.
Breaking news: It's Ayman al-Zawahiri. He has beeen #1 on the target lest since Bin Ladin got his. He basically was Bin Laden Chief Of Staff, and was in charge of the detailed planning of 9/11. Won't see any tears from be on his sudden demise.
More just it; It was a Drone Strike in Kabul. which once agianst leads one to question how much we should trust the Taliban Goverment.
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The Best Method To Use In The Quest For Truth
https://skepticsalamanderblog.blogsp...quest-for.html
Article discusses peoples false sense of truth, the problems with opinion media, and the best method to find truth.
Article discusses peoples false sense of truth, the problems with opinion media, and the best method to find truth.
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[Split Thread] Condoms and Consent
| This thread was split from here. Please ensure you are posting in the proper thread. |
|
Posted By:xjx388
|
Not sure that this needs a thread of its own but it seems to fit here:
Supreme Court rules not wearing condom against partner's wishes could lead to sexual assault conviction
(It's Canada. In Case you were wondering.)
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